With rain, mosquito season flutters to life

They run rampant at night, drawn to human flesh and thirsty for blood. They may have eluded Bram Stroker, but Southwest Floridians dread them more than Dracula — mosquitoes.

After a dry spring and late start to mosquito season, Tropical Storm Alberto’s rains cut the ceremonial ribbon on mosquito season for the Lee County Mosquito Control District, said Wayne Gale, operations manager for the district.

“Oh, yeah, this should be the kickoff,” he said Tuesday. “Over the weekend we got five or six inches in some areas and (Monday) we had about another inch. There is some standing water and some mosquito breeding that we’re trying to treat as fast as we can find it. We have some mosquitoes along the northwest coast of Cape Coral.”

Southwest Florida residents may have more than itching concerns.

Harvard University researchers recently linked drought to a rise in cases of West Nile virus.

“Basically what that does is that it concentrates birds and mosquitoes when there’s not much water, which makes for a concentrated transmission of the virus,” Gale said. “And then when it starts raining and they all disperse, it can cause higher counts of the virus.”

There have been three recorded cases of West Nile in Collier County — one in 2002 and two in 2003. In Lee County, there have been four — one case in 2002 and three in 2003.

None of the cases was fatal.

Scientists from the University of Florida and Oregon State University drew a similar conclusion to that reached by Harvard researchers. They tracked the spread of West Nile and other mosquito-carried viruses.

While mosquito season may get under way in Lee, it’s a different situation in Collier. For starters, Alberto brought less rain to Collier County.

Frank Van Essen, executive director of the Collier Mosquito Control District, said despite the promise of Alberto’s heavy rainfall, the district has nothing to report thus far.

“We didn’t really get that much rain,” he said. “We have rain gauges out in some areas and everything’s less than two inches. Some areas had less than one inch. It’s going to take a little more than what we got. It was so dry before that most of the water we got soaked in. Without standing water, there isn’t really any mosquito activity.”

Van Essen was quick to remind residents of their responsibilities once the mosquito season starts.

“Once we get into the mosquito season ... we’ll do our best to keep the numbers to a tolerable level, but we certainly can’t get them to zero,” he said.

The key to keeping the insects as far away from you and your family as possible lies in ridding your property of unnecessary standing water.

Sources of trouble include rain gutters, kiddie pools, bird baths and old tires.

“If you’re going to have standing water, you need to change it every three or four days,” Gale said, adding that it takes about a week for the eggs to develop.

Another source may be your landscaping. Experts agree that the bromeliad, which produces colorful leaves in a rosette formation, can attract mosquitoes.

“The leaf axles actually produce water,” Van Essen said, adding that the plant is popular in Naples. “A lot of people like them because they produce pretty flowers.”

But, according to Gale, the plant isn’t a strong factor in spreading the West Nile virus.

“Usually the mosquitoes that are in those are not really transmitters of West Nile, but they are vicious biters,” he said.